Portsmouth planning approval rate
Portsmouth council approved 88.5% of planning applications and refused 11.5%, based on 9,214 decisions analysed. Ranked 94th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
88.5%
overall approval rate
9,214
Decisions analysed
8,152
Approved
1,062
Refused
14
Wards covered
Planning in Portsmouth? Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.
Approval rate by application type
Different application types have different approval rates in Portsmouth. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
86.7%
88.3%
96.7%
90.6%
92.4%
93.2%
69.5%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Portsmouth, mined from 9,214 proposal descriptions.
89.2%
85.5%
78.7%
84.6%
87.0%
85.9%
92.2%
93.2%
75.0%
68.7%
85.3%
79.2%
87.4%
91.3%
75.0%
70.4%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Portsmouth. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Drayton & Farlington
88.3%
St Jude
86.8%
St Thomas
88.6%
Charles Dickens
90.3%
Central Southsea
86.0%
Cosham
89.8%
Eastney & Craneswater
87.0%
Copnor
89.3%
Milton
91.8%
Hilsea
89.3%
Baffins
90.0%
Nelson
86.1%
Paulsgrove
90.7%
Fratton
83.3%
Wards in Portsmouth
Drayton & Farlington
88.3% approval · 1,117 decisions
St Jude
86.8% approval · 1,046 decisions
St Thomas
88.6% approval · 1,021 decisions
Charles Dickens
90.3% approval · 812 decisions
Central Southsea
86.0% approval · 702 decisions
Cosham
89.8% approval · 688 decisions
Eastney & Craneswater
87.0% approval · 621 decisions
Copnor
89.3% approval · 560 decisions
Milton
91.8% approval · 539 decisions
Hilsea
89.3% approval · 513 decisions
Baffins
90.0% approval · 462 decisions
Nelson
86.1% approval · 433 decisions
Paulsgrove
90.7% approval · 356 decisions
Fratton
83.3% approval · 288 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Portsmouth, showing how the council decides real applications.
Retrospective application for replacement of first floor windows · St Thomas · Tue 03 Mar 2026
Change of use from house in multiple occupation (Class C4) to 7 person/7 bedroom · Hilsea · Fri 27 Feb 2026
Retention of 2 non illuminated signs on boundary wall adjacent to car park entra · St Jude · Fri 27 Feb 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Portsmouth, 1 in 9 applications are refused. Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis gives you 17 pages of intelligence specific to your property:
✓ Ward-level approval rates for your exact area
✓ Common refusal reasons in Portsmouth
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Portsmouth →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Portsmouth
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 9,214 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Portsmouth
What is the planning approval rate in Portsmouth?
Based on 9,214 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Portsmouth approved 88.5% of applications and refused 11.5%. The council is ranked 94th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Portsmouth?
Portsmouth refuses 11.5% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 9. That is close to the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 9,214 decided applications since 2020, 1,062 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Portsmouth have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Portsmouth are in Milton (91.8%), Paulsgrove (90.7%), and Charles Dickens (90.3%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Portsmouth?
The most common planning application types in Portsmouth are: Full (4,807 decisions, 86.7% approved), Other (1,296, 88.3%), and Discharge of Conditions (840, 96.7%).
How long does a planning application take in Portsmouth?
Planning applications in Portsmouth take an average of 14.7 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 9,108 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is slower than the 8-week statutory target for householder applications (the statutory targets are 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments). PlanningLens measures the actual time each application takes, not just the target. Portsmouth decides approximately 1,536 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Portsmouth?
You can search planning applications in Portsmouth directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 9,214 historical decisions in Portsmouth to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Portsmouth calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Portsmouth's official planning portal and analyses every published decision since January 2020. The approval rate is calculated as approved decisions divided by total decided applications, excluding withdrawn and pending applications. The full methodology, data sourcing, and Creative Commons BY 4.0 licensing terms are published at planninglens.co.uk/methodology.